Warlord
by guardsmansparky
Summary: Exiled and attacked, Naruto becomes the replacement for a killer cyborg, before returning home to exact his revenge. Grievous is Naruto
1. Chapter 1

To say that Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi was worried would not even begin to describe his emotions. Not half a day before, he had fought the cyborg Separatist leader Grievous to the death in personal combat.

The desert sand-colored biomechanical being had been terrifying, reminiscent of the ancient and feared Krath War Droids with a pair of clawed LX-44 robotic legs. The mask of the cyborg general had been heavily based off the skull of the mumuu, a species of tusked quadrupeds from Kalee, and protected the cyborg's entire face, only revealing the general's yellow, reptilian eyes. However, perhaps the most terrifying thing about Grievous was the four-fingered, two thumbed arms that had the capability to split into four fully functional arms.

Obi-Wan had only been able to kill the resilient cyborg by disarming Grievous of nearly every weapon before setting fire to the oil-rich sack preserving his vital organs with several well-placed energy bolts from Grievous' own sidearm.

After the fall of the cyborg general, he had lead an assault on the droids of the Separatists entrenched on the arid sinkhole world of Utapau. To his shock and dismay, the clone troopers he had led, men vat-grown from the genetic stock of the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter, had turned against him and attempted to kill him. It nearly succeeded too, as the pain of betrayal was compounded by the pain and anguish that shot through the force.

The force was an energy source that surrounded and bound all life. For those feelings to permeate the force to that extent…it could only mean the mass deaths of force sensitives in a short period of time.

Obi-Wan didn't pause as he strode around the broken cyborg body of the Separatist general Grievous. He had to get to Coruscant and the Jedi Temple, if not to warn the rest of the Jedi Order in time, then to search out survivors. But to do that, he first needed to get off planet. The late Grievous' personal starfighter would be perfect.

Settling in the cockpit, Obi-Wan looked at the controls distastefully. "I hate flying."

o===0========

As the slate grey starfighter disappeared into the stratosphere, the broken body twitched as a red aura briefly enveloped the biomechanical being. With a mechanical groan, the battered cyborg slowly rose to sitting position. Grievous lived once more.

Getting to his mechanical feet, Grievous took in his surroundings, immediately noting that _the Soulless One_ was missing. Internally sneering, Grievous decided that he'd have to…arrange transport differently. As he plotted, the cyborg general noticed the discarded blaster on the floor. Upon seeing it, the Cyborg remembered the events of the past day.

Fighting Kenobi—while still recovering from the damage done by Jedi Master Mace Windu during the Battle over Corescant and the attempted kidnapping of the Republic's Supreme Chancellor—the loss of his two lower hands forcing him to flee on his wheelbike, and culminating in his final confrontation with Kenobi. The confrontation where he had been disarmed of everything—of his blaster and all his 'collected' lightsabers—save a single electrostaff. The confrontation where…where he had taken five blaster bolts to the synthskin sack protecting what remained of his internal organs, burning him from the inside out. Yet somehow he was alive. Was it possible that…?

'**Yes, it's possible brat.'**

Grievous gave an unseen sneer. 'Kyuubi. So, after all these years, you finally grace me with your presence.'

Grievous suddenly found himself standing in a damp, dimly-lit sewer before a set of massive prison bars, a piece of paper covered in archaic scribbles plastered over the gate's lock. From the darkness within the cage emerged a leviathan fox with crimson fur, long rabbit-like ears, and nine long tails. The fox gave Grievous a toothy, fanged grin that would have induced the emptying of bowels in any lesser being. **"Hello, Naruto."**

As the fox spoke those two words, a lifetime of memories flooded through the cyborg's mind.

o===0========

He had been born one Naruto Uzumaki in a military village on a remote, backwater planet that hadn't even discovered heavier than air flight yet. On the day he was born, the Kyuubi no Yoko, the very nine-tailed fox before him now, had attacked the city, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, AKA the Hidden Leaf, AKA Konohagakure no sato.

The Kyuubi was a being of pure chakra, the energy that pervaded all life on that backwater planet, and as such, practically invincible. It was only the Fourth Hokage's—the leader of the village—sacrifice that stopped the Kyuubi's rampage. Unfortunately for Naruto, that sacrifice had involved sealing the Kyuubi away into his infant self, and by his own father too.

Naruto's childhood had been nonexistent. From the moment he could walk, he had been cast out of the orphanage. Mobs and drunkards had hounded his every step, none more so than on his accursed birthday. It was then that the formerly retired Third Hokage had rescued him form that existence, giving him an apartment all his own. It was at that moment that Naruto swore to gain the Hokage position and to become a shinobi, one of the assassins-for-hire/soldiers of the Hidden Leaf. All so that the glares would end.

Oh what a fool he'd been.

His military education beginning at the tender age of six was a disaster. Sabotaged at every turn, it was only through a fluke that Naruto had graduated, and learned about his lineage. Oh, he'd justified that away, but deep down he knew that he would never have been told. So, he kept it quiet.

His military career had been just as bad. Barely taught anything by an incompetent teacher, who was none-the-less a very competent shinobi, Naruto had faced death more times than he should have. The mission to Wave, The Chuunin Exams, finding the Fifth Hokage after the Third's demise, Taki, Snow Country, the list just kept going on and on.

Then came the betrayal. One of Naruto's compatriots had deserted, and the Fifth Hokage, one Tsunade Senju, had sent out a squad consisting of Naruto and his peers out to retrieve him. Despite crippling and debilitating injuries, Naruto had retrieved the traitor, only to be exiled for his trouble.

But even in exile they couldn't leave him be, hunting him down like a rabid animal. Broken by his attackers, they had left him to the mercies of the wild. It was only through the intervention of on Count Dooku that Naruto had survived. Retrieved from his homeworld, what remained of his body was placed in an empty shell that had been reserved for another before that other unexpectedly died.

His mind was altered and filled artificially with tactics, military skills, weapons, anything and everything to make him into the perfect killing machine in the greater galaxy. With nothing else left to him, he abandoned the name of Naruto Uzumaki and became: Grievous.

o===0========

Grievous sneered as he heard that name. "That person is long dead, there is only Grievous. Nobody cared for Naruto, but as Grievous, I have purpose!"

The Kyuubi looked down on Grievous. **"You know that's not true."**

The cyborg turned his back on the Kyuubi. Without a word, he left the mindscape.

o===0========

Grievous sneered as he returned to the real world. Kenobi would pay, they'd all pay. If only he still had his chakra.

A whirring sound from outside the hidden hangar gave Grievous cause to turn around to see the bulky shape of a black painted Republic Low Altitude Assault Transport/infantry gunship hovering just within jumping distance. Behind his mask, what was left of Grievous grinned wickedly. It didn't have a hyperdrive, but it would get him off planet. With a silence that belied his mechanical nature, Grievous disappeared into the shadows.

Safely hidden, he watched as the LAAT/i landed and the first black armored clone trooper disembarked. Grievous' eyes narrowed in contemplation. Those were not standard clones; but black ops commandos, if he wasn't mistaken.

He listened as the leader gave out orders. "Spread out and find the cyborg's body. It shouldn't be far."

So, they were here for him. A glint entered Grievous' eyes. Well, far be it for him to disappoint. He waited for the closest commando to draw near.

o===0========

Grievous dropped the body of the last clone commando and stepped into the black gunship. He immediately noticed the coffin-sized wooden crate on the floor. Stepping over to it, Grievous found his two missing hands and his tattered cloak. Dismissing them for the moment—he could affect repairs later—Grievous entered the cockpit.

Sealing the gunship's troop bay, Grievous was pleasantly surprised to find that the black-ops LAAT/i possessed a top-of-the-line hyperdrive, among several other customizations and modifications, including an enhanced fuel capacity. Putting those little tidbits aside until he left the planet's gravity well, Grievous activated the repulsorlifts and took off.

Avoiding the Republic ships in orbit, Grievous made a micro-jump to the next star system and activated the holocomm. "CIS Central Command Mustafar, this is Grievous, come in." Static was the only response. Internally frowning, Grievous hit the transmit button again. "CIS Central Command, this is General Grievous, come in."

Static. Snarling, Grievous hit his hand on the side of the cockpit. If central command wasn't answering, then the Separatist council had fallen. Grievous sighed and ran a hand over his mask. If the Republic had won, it would mean that he would be tried as a war criminal, even despite only hitting military targets, should he ever show his masked face again. Sitting back, Grievous tried to think of a place he could disappear to.

**'You could always go home.'**

Grievous snorted. 'How? Without chakra, there's no point. Besides, all I ever knew there was pain.'

The Kyuubi snorted. **'You still have your chakra, you just couldn't access it. Besides, there was that one girl, Hinata, wasn't it?'**

Grievous sighed as he remembered the gentle, indigo-haired girl with the soft, lavender eyes who he had shared his first—and only—kiss with. His exile must have hurt her terribly. Suddenly, what the Kyuubi had first said sunk in. 'What do you mean, I couldn't access my chakra?'

The cyborg could just hear the Kyuubi's sneer. **'While you were undergoing the surgeries, I overheard that white-haired old man that 'rescued' us expressing concerns about our power. His 'master' had him put a device into your organ-sack that cut you off from your chakra, and by extension, me. If you see him again, you really should thank that Jedi before you kill him.'**

Grievous sat back, his anger at Count Dooku dampened by the man's previous demise at the hands of the Jedi. 'Still, that doesn't solve the fact that I don't know where home is.'

**'I do.'**

The biomechanical being breathed in deeply. Going back to that wretched backwater world was really his best option, his _only_ option. Maybe…maybe he could find out what happened to his only real friend in the five years he had been gone. He set the coordinates the Kyuubi gave him.

As the stars stretched before giving way to the blue tunnel of hyperspace, Grievous got up from the pilot seat and went to the trooper/cargo hold. Sitting down by the wooden crate on the floor, the cyborg picked up his kaleesh cloak. Reaching into a hidden pocket, he pulled out a tattered, worn picture of a girl with indigo hair. After staring at the picture in melancholia for seemingly an eternity, Grievous put it away. With the soft, blue glow of hyperspace filling the hold, the cyborg began to make his repairs.

o===0========

Grievous stared at the blue ball below that was his homeworld. The cyborg, fully repaired thanks to an IM-6 medical droid found in a locker, contemplated where to land. Konoha, and by extension the land of fire, was out, for obvious reasons. Suna and the Land of Wind was out due to being a military ally with Fire and Leaf (Plus, Grievous really didn't want to risk being claimed by one of the puppeteers there). While Snow Country and maybe Moon Country were possible landing zones, Grievous really didn't know enough about the land to, well, land. Which left only one place; The Land of Waves. The place he'd first stepped foot out of Konoha for. The first place he had truly felt at home.

Waiting until nightfall, Grievous landed next to the bridge from the mainland to Wave Country proper. Stepping out, Grievous looked up at the sign above the bridge with bemusement. **'The Great Naruto Bridge. Hey what do you know, you're popular.'**

Growling at the Kyuubi, Grievous pulled out a remote and sent the LAAT/i back into orbit. The modified gunship had enough fuel for one more jump, should leaving the planet become necessary.

As the faint light from the LAAT/i's repulsors vanished into the night sky, Grievous put up his hood and made his way over the bridge.

o===0========

As he entered the capitol village of the islands of Wave just after dawn, Grievous took note of how much the country had flourished since the death of the midget tyrant Gatou. Surprisingly, there was an underlying tension in the air. Seeing the suspicious looks he received from the few people out and about, Grievous was perplexed. Sure, he was in a feature-hiding cloak, but the people of Wave had been surprisingly hospitable the last time he had been there, even under the iron fist of Gatou.

As Grievous contemplated on what could have possibly changed, he looked up and froze in his tracks as he saw a familiar sight: a ramen stand by the name of Ichiraku Ramen.

Grievous looked at the familiar stand, the one that had been the only place to feed him, sometimes for free, back when he was growing up in that hellhole he knew as Konoha. 'What are they doing here?'

Overcome by curiosity, Grievous entered the stand. A slender, fair-skinned girl with brown hair and eyes was there wiping down the counter, wearing a white robe with folded sleeves, a dark blue apron, and a white bandanna over her hair. Grievous knew her. 'Ayame.'

"I'm sorry; we're not open just yet. Come back in a few—oh!" Looking up, Ayame gasped in surprise as she beheld the cloaked person before her, his menacing mask visible under the cloak's hood.

Grievous held up a hand, causing the gentle-natured young woman to draw back at the sight of the skeletal metal appendage. "My apologies, I did not mean to frighten. I was merely overcome with curiosity. You see, I last saw this stand in the Hidden Leaf Village and was curious as to whether or not it was the same."

Ayame nodded, still somewhat wary of the towering stranger. "Yes, it is. We left Konoha some time ago, after..." The young waitress trailed off, pain clearly visible in her eyes. "I'm sorry, even after all these years, I don't like talking about it."

The cyborg former general saw the pain in Ayame's eyes. 'Is-is she talking of me?' He would find out. "Ah, you've lost someone close to you."

"Yes." The waitress sighed. "We had hoped he would come here to wave someday, but we lost hope of him still being alive when he never did. It's been six years with no sign of him."

Grievous nodded. She was talking about him, or his previous self anyways. "I see. I shall not disturb you further. Good day to you." Without another word or backwards glance, the intimidating cyborg left the stand.

"Ayame?" The twenty-four year old turned to see her father, Teuchi, come out of the back. "Who was it? An early customer?"

Ayame shook her head. "No, it was just a passerby in a mask. But," Ayame turned to gaze at the curtain separating the stall from the outside. "I could have sworn, that we've met before."

o===0========

Grievous stood on the cliff that overlooked the Great Naruto Bridge. Before him were the graves of two of the greatest people Grievous had ever known: Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, who had engendered Naruto's love for swords which had been twisted to collecting the blades of fallen foes; and Haku Yuki, who had taught Naruto that true strength came from defending those precious to you, something that the cyborg had forgotten until the Kyuubi had fixed those parts of his mind that had been tampered with by Dooku.

Haku and Zabuza had been hired by Gatou to kill Tazuna, the bridge builder that Naruto's low-level ninja squad had been hired to protect. Armed with the legendary decapitating 'carving knife' Kubikiriboucho, and Haku's control over ice, Zabuza had nearly succeeded.

However, during the fight with the jounin leader of squad seven, Haku had died, sacrificing himself to save her master, Zabuza, from an attack that would have killed him. Soon after, after a speech from Naruto left the hardened assassin in tears, Zabuza killed his former employer, the business tycoon and black marketer Gatou, along with an army of thugs. Suffering from several mortal wounds, Zabuza collapsed next to Haku's body. Naruto had personally given the two a proper burial, with the foot wide, six-foot long Kubikiriboucho serving as the master swordsman's gravemarker.

Sighing, the cyborg looked up at the sky above the two graves. "It's been awhile, Haku, Zabuza. I have seen the stars, been to other planets. I have seen things, done things that would make even you quail Zabuza. I have changed, for the worst, my mind altered, my body replaced. It was only in temporary death did I remember what it was that you taught me Haku." Another deep sigh wheezed out from underneath Grievous' mask. "I came here for forgiveness, I think. But does a monster such as me deserve such forgiveness?"

Grievous lost track of time as he stood at the graves on the grassy cliff, engrossed in watching the clouds above and the waves below. For the first time in years, a sense of peace swept over the tormented soul that was once Naruto Uzumaki.

An explosion off in the distance broke the tranquility. Turning around, Grievous saw a column of smoke rising in the direction of Wave Town. Focusing, the cyborg's aural receptors picked up the faint sounds of screaming. Snarling, Grievous turned and grasped the Kubikiri. "Zabuza, I'm going to have to borrow your sword."

o===0========

Wave Town was in chaos as a squadron of blank-masked shinobi in black cloaks occupied the town. The leader, a man dressed identically to the rest addressed his men. "Sack the town. Find the fugitive and burn anybody aiding him. This land is now forfeit to Konohagakure and the Land of Fire."

A voice sounded out from behind him. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. _Raikiri!_"

A deafening sound akin to the chirping of a thousand birds filled the air as a lightning-encased fist burst out his chest from behind. Dropping the rapidly cooling corpse, Kakashi Hatake stood up straight as he took in the small army surrounding him. Dressed in a black jumpsuit and an old, beat up flak jacket, the wind blew his gravity-defying silver hair as he looked at the blank-masked shinobi around him. Contempt filled his right eye, his left covered by a tilted headband with an attached metal plate, a long scratch going through the stylized swirl-leaf engraved on it. His emotions were hidden behind a black facemask.

One of the white-masked shinobi stepped forward. "Kakashi Hatake, you will come with us to be tried and executed."

Kakashi sneered, the blood on his hand boiling off. "I'm afraid I won't be going anywhere with you ROOT lackeys."

With an unspoken order the cloaked shinobi launched into their attack. Kakashi didn't flinch. He merely unsheathed a white-bladed tanto and slid up the left side of his crooked headband. The scarred eyelid snapped open, revealing a red eye with three commas spinning around the pupil.

He barely blinked as he cut down the first to come within range.

o===0========

It was to this scene that Grievous came across as he mounted the crest of the roof he stood upon; one man facing down a faceless army. The former general snarled upon seeing the shinobis' blank masks. The squad of shinobi who had chased him down had worn the same masks.

Soon, a break in the scrum allowed Grievous to clearly see the lone shinobi stab a lightning-covered fist through a white-masked head. The cyborg silently frowned as he recognized just who was fighting the small army, as well as the slash on his standard-issue forehead protector. If Kakashi Hatake of all people had defected from Konoha, things must have changed drastically.

Grievous watched the fighting carefully. Hatake had clearly improved in his stamina since his…ascension, so to speak, as the last time the silver-haired jounin had been in Wave, he had been drained after fighting Zabuza Momochi for half the time. That and it appeared that the law of Conservation of Ninjutsu was in effect, as the faceless shinobi were falling to the masked missing-nin in droves.

However, not even copy-nin Kakashi Hatake could keep fighting so many, and eventually he began to lag. As Grievous was contemplating stepping in, a shrill scream from a familiar ramen stand caught his attention.

o===0========

Kakashi had just beheaded a particularly annoying adversary when he heard the scream. Risking a look over his shoulder, Kakashi was horrified to see a brown haired woman, who was very obviously several months pregnant, thrown out of Ichiraku Ramen to the ground.

"Ayame!"

Kakashi fought like a madman to get to the petite waitress, only to see an enemy shinobi step up behind her before he could get halfway. The man raised his tanto to stab the woman in the abdomen.

"NO!" Kakashi could only look on helplessly as he was pinned to the ground by several shinobi dogpiling on him. The tanto rose to its apex.

The world froze as the man holding the short sword exploded in a spray of blood and gore to be replaced by a giant blade. Blinking blood out of her eyes, Ayame saw a towering figure in a grey cloak standing above her.

o===0========

Grievous looked down at Ayame as he pulled Kubikiri from the ground. Now that she wasn't behind a counter, it was evident that the waitress was pregnant. He stepped over her and looked over his shoulder. "You should get inside. This is no place for a pregnant woman."

As Ayame scrambled back into the stand, Grievous rested Kubikiri on the ground tip first. He panned his baleful yellow gaze over the assembled shinobi. "I suggest you leave, lest I remove your heads from your shoulders."

Without a word, a previously unseen masked shinobi landed behind Grievous and charged with tanto raised. The cyborg snapped his leg out in a side kick. Grabbing the nin by the face with his clawed foot, Grievous casually lifted him bodily into the air and slammed him to the ground. However, all anybody saw was Greivous' cloak flutter before the nin was pinned by the head with a taloned metal foot. The crack of the man's skull reverberated through the town, blood and brain matter pooling across the cobbles between the clenched talons as the cyborg's cloak settled back down.

Grievous glowered at the masked shinobi before him. Death came off of him in waves as he rose to his full height of seven-foot-one. "So be it."

With a flare of what little chakra the remains of his biological body produced, Grievous' cloak billowed out, revealing him in all his cybernetic glory. With a tan flash, the cyborg stood before the foremost shinobi, cloak fluttering behind him with the bloodied Kubikiri held aloft to the side. For a moment, the world stood still, before the front row of shinobi flew apart in a spray of blood and gore. With a mad gleam in his reptilian eyes, Grievous began his slaughter.

The ROOT members didn't stand a chance. Not only were they up against an untiring enemy whose very body was literally a deadly weapon, but Kakashi had taken the opportunity to throw off his distracted captors with a palmed kunai.

The blank masked shinobi found themselves assaulted from within and without as the cyborg and the copy-nin waded and massacred their way through the glorified cannon fodder. Whole swaths of the cloaked enemy were cut down like wheat to a scythe with each swing of the Kubikiri, while those that managed to avoid the whirring carving knife had to deal with Grievous himself. As many of the ROOT fell to Grievous' hands and taloned feet as they did to Kubikiri.

Kakashi had gotten a second wind after being dogpiled and was living up to his reputation of having copied over a thousand jutsu, unleashing area of effect techniques in droves even as he used single-target jutsu to target the tougher nin. Things only got worse for the ROOT as they began to fall to volleys of crossbow bolts fired by the local militia lead by a sixteen year old boy with flat brown hair.

Soon, only one nin was left alive, pinned to the ground by Grievous' metal foot by the neck as he tried to crawl away. His mask was broken, revealing a terrified green eye and a forehead protector with a swirl leaf. "Wh-what are you?"

Grievous bent over until his masked visage was next to the petrified leaf nin's ear. "Your most Grievous mistake!" Standing upright, the cyborg twisted his foot with a sharp _crack!_

**'Really, 'your most **_**Grievous**_** mistake?' That's the best you could come up with?'**

The cyborg rolled his eyes. 'Shut up. He's dead, isn't he?'

The Kyuubi gave a long-suffering sigh. **'Yes, I suppose he is. You have been entertaining as always.'**

Grievous sneered. Every since he had regained connection with the Kyuubi, the fox had been going on nonstop about his various battles and victories. If he didn't know any better, he'd say the nine-tailed being was doing it to piss him off.

"Hey," Grievous turned his head to see his old teacher approaching cautiously as he wiped the blood from his face. "Thanks for your help. I don't know what I would have done had you not stepped in on time. I am in your debt."

Grievous turned away. "It was no problem, believe it." He internally cringed. That old verbal tick was back. The one alteration to his brain he could have lived with. Blasted fox.

Kakashi froze, the blood draining from his face. "…Naruto?"

Sighing, Grievous turned. "Hello sensei."

**AN: Well, the plot bunnies have struck again. I hope you enjoy this, but I sadly won't be updating this for a while as I'll be focusing on school and my other stories first. Piece out.**

**Why do so many people hate on Hinata anyways? It's not her fault she's been oppressed.**


	2. Chapter 2

Kakashi stared at the cyborg in front of him. He just couldn't consolidate the image of the happy-go-lucky blonde kid he had taught with the cold, calculating ruthlessness of the droid general.

"Naruto?" Grievous and Kakashi turned to see the sixteen-year old militia leader coming towards them. "What happened to you?"

Grievous eyed the boy carefully. He looked familiar. A gleam of recognition filled his reptilian eyes as he saw the blue and green striped fisherman's hat in his hand. "Hello Inari. I see you've grown up." Indeed, the strong, iron-willed young man was a far cry from the sullen, defeated child he had been during the mission to wave, so very long ago.

The cyborg stared at Inari for a long moment, before turning to Kakashi. "We have much to discuss, sensei. Is there somewhere we can talk, without prying eyes?" Kakashi nodded and motioned for the former general to follow him. Grievous followed without a word, ignoring the whispers and stares from the gathering crowd.

As the cyborg entered the Ichiraku Ramen stand, several young men and women left to spread the word. The Hero of Wave had returned!

o===0========

Grievous had been caught off guard by Ayame's reaction to his identity. The pregnant waitress had practically thrown herself upon the startled cyborg, crying her eyes out. Teuchi had frowned and merely sat down. Once everyone had calmed down, they gathered around the kitchen table in the apartment above the ramen stand, cups of tea sitting before them. Sitting carefully in a chair that groaned woodenly at his not inconsiderable weight, Grievous planted his elbows on the table and arched his fingers. "Let me begin my story just after I was exiled."

o===0========

Naruto Uzumaki struggled to breathe. Not three hours before, his godmother, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade Senju had banished Naruto from the military village of Konohagakure for using the Kyuubi's chakra to apprehend the deserter Sasuke Uchiha. Now, strange men in black cloaks and white masks hunted him.

Another ragged breath was dragged into ravaged lungs. Naruto had managed to evade his pursuers for a while. However, his luck had run out when one of his hunters caught him with a grand fireball. His lungs scorched and his skin burnt, Naruto was stunned long enough for one of the ninja to target him.

"Earth Style: Crushing Earth Pillars!" Several cylinders of rock burst out of the ground and into the air. Naruto's attempts to get back onto his feet came to an abrupt halt as the pillars came down on his limbs. His joints crushed, Naruto collapsed with a scream of agony. Quickly, the Kyuubi's chakra welled up around him, the caustic red energy beginning to reset the crushed joints and heal the horrendous burns.

"There'll be none of that!" One of the masked men stepped up and slapped a tag across the back of the crippled blonde's head. Immediately, the red aura dispersed, leaving Naruto to gasp for air with his scorched lungs, his joints still ruined. The masked man motioned to his fellows and spoke emotionlessly. "Leave him for the scavengers. Lord Danzou does not wish for any inclination of foul play to come about. They'll assume he was killed by predators, should they ever find the body."

With that, Naruto's assailants vanished into the forests. Unable to move without crushing pain, the blonde could only lay there and wheeze on the forest floor. As the world began to fade to black, Naruto stared into the darkening sky. The last thing he saw before unconsciousness took him was a head of impeccably groomed white hair.

o===0========

Grievous paused as he broke into a hacking coughing fit. Holding up a hand to forestall any assistance, Grievous recollected himself. "My life was saved by Count Dooku, a former jedi." Grievous paused. "How I grew to despise him."

Ayame interrupted. "Why? Why would you hate the man who saved your life?"

Taking a deep breath, Grievous reigned in his anger. "Because of what he did to me. Dooku took me far from here, from this planet."

Kakashi blinked. "From this planet? Well, that would certainly explain why we never could find hide nor hair of you." Honestly, with some of the things he'd seen, he'd learned not to doubt outrageous claims.

Grievous continued as if he'd never been interrupted. "Dooku, had use for me, but my body was all but destroyed. But for Dooku, that was only a trivial thing.

"Dooku…rebuilt me, for lack of a better word. Anything not needed…was replaced. Skin and bone with unfeeling metal, muscle with hydraulics and gears. Everything save my organs, my spine, and my head were replaced with metal. Even then, Dooku wasn't satisfied. He and his dark master cut me off from my chakra and that of the fox. Then they altered my mind to make me more…controllable."

Grievous took a deep, rattling breath. "I was used as a weapon. I was made to hate for no reason but to hate, to destroy for the sake of destroying. Many have died at my hands; some deserving, most not." The cyborg sat there for a moment. "I am not proud to admit, but there were times I enjoyed it. I fear that I still do. For years I rampaged against my masters' enemies, the Galactic Republic, at the head of an army of droids. I was finally stopped by a jedi master. He killed me, for a moment, freeing me from Dooku and his master's control and restoring my connection to my chakra.

"After that," finished Grievous. "I stole a ship, and found myself here once more."

The silence that filled the room was deafening. Shrugging it off, Grievous turned to Kakashi. "Tell me, Kakashi, of what has happened during my…absence?"

Kakashi hunched over, staring into his cup of tea. "After you were exiled, everything just seemed to go wrong."

"Once you were exiled, Lady Tsunade was horrified at what she had done, and couldn't explain why she had ordered the exile. She turned out the garrison to find you and bring you back." Kakashi looked grim. "She broke inside when all that was found was your torn and bloodied forehead protector. It was Dan and Nawaki all over again."

Grievous nodded. Dan Kato and Nawaki Senju, Tsunade's lover and nephew respectively, had died in war. Devastated, Tsunade had fled her responsibilities and Konoha and spent the next decade or so gambling and drinking her life away. She would have remained that way if Grievous, in his previous life as Naruto Uzumaki, hadn't knocked some sense into the woman and brought her back to become the Fifth Hokage, after the death of the Third at the hands of the traitor Orochimaru. She had also been, it was later revealed, Naruto's godmother. For her to banish and be responsible for her godson's death…

Kakashi continued. "After the revelation, Danzou Shimura petitioned the Fire Daimyo to remove Tsunade from power on the grounds that she was unfit to be Hokage. With Tsunade having banished you for completing your given mission, he agreed." Kakashi leaned on his elbows and steepled his hands. "Somehow, Danzou convinced the Daimyo to appoint _him_ as Hokage, despite not being eligible for the position in any way."

The silver-haired man's expression darkened. "That was when everything changed."

"The first thing Danzou did upon coming to power was disband ANBU and replace it with his private security force: ROOT." Kakashi took a breath. "At first, life went on, but then, Danzou decreed that there would be routine inspections of homes and businesses. It seemed acceptable, at the time, or at least, no one complained too much about it. That was but the first of Danzou's decrees. And then, the disappearances began.

"Anyone who said anything dissentious would vanish. Shinobi who disagreed with Danzou's methods would suddenly find themselves in debt or disappeared, taken in for reeducation we suspect. Businesses that were foreign owned or that didn't follow Danzou's new laws were fined and taxed into bankruptcy. People began to leave Konoha in droves, until Danzou shut the gates. No one went in, and no one went out, without the proper documentation and papers."

Kakashi's knuckles creaked as he squeezed his hands together. "The executions began then."

Grievous leaned forward. "How many?"

"Too many. The academy suffered next. I don't know the details of what the curriculum became, but many of the teachers opposed it. Iruka was foremost amongst them."

Iruka Umino. Grievous remembered him well. The only teacher at the Konoha shinobi academy who actually taught him, as opposed to ignoring or sabotaging him. The spiky-haired brunette with the horizontal scar across his nose was the closest thing Naruto had to a brother.

The cyborg leaned forward. Kakashi wasn't telling him something. "What happened?"

Kakashi took a deep breath. "Danzou…had him put to death to make an example of him."

Grievous froze. "No." It was the closest to a whisper he could get.

The cyborg's former teacher shook his head. "ROOT had his head on the chopping block. Just as the axe came down, Anko swooped in and killed the executioner and freed Iruka. After that, they fled Konoha and went to ground."

Grievous gave a sigh of relief, his metal body sagging in relief. If Iruka was the closest thing to a brother Grievous had, then the purple-haired Anko MItarashi was the crazy older sister he never had. He was glad the two had each other.

Ayame took up the story. "It was then that we knew we could not stay in Konoha any longer. We applied for an emigration permit, but we were denied. They claimed it was because of the war going on, but…"

If his eyebrows hadn't been pretty much permanently burned off, Grievous would have lifted one. "War?"

Kakashi nodded. "After the failed execution, Danzou claimed that the Land of Woods was harboring Konoha fugitives and used that as a pretense to invade. He's been absorbing and annexing the border countries since."

Inari nodded. "This wasn't the first time that bastard's tried taking Wave, just the first time he's been so blatantly open about it."

Ayame continued her recounting. "When our permit was denied, we just knew it was a matter of time before they came for us."

Teuchi took up the story. "I took a risk and approached Kakashi. I asked if he could help us."

"I agreed," stated Kakashi. "Things were…not going well for me. It was best to leave before they took me in to be…reeducated. I snuck the Ichiraku's out through a smuggler's tunnel I never reported. It was a close thing, but we eventually got here to Wave." Kakashi looked at Ayame with a goofy look in his eye. "And then I fell in love."

Grievous looked at Kakashi, then at Ayame, then back at Kakashi. "No."

Kakashi eye-smiled, his eye closing and making almost an upside-down U shape. "Yep. She's my snookums."

"And you're my wookums," Ayame said in a lovey-dovey tone as she leaned against Kakashi.

Grievous looked at Teuchi. "That's so lovey-dovey it makes me want to hurl, and I don't even know if I can anymore."

Teuchi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you don't have them living under your roof."

Shaking his head, the cyborg turned back to the loving couple and an annoyed Inari. "Kakashi, what of my old comrades?" A thought occurred to the former general. "And where is Tazuna?"

o===0========

Grievous stood at the cliff side graves, staring out over the waves at the sunset. He gave a deep breath as he thought over what Kakashi had told him.

Tazuna, as the duly elected leader of Wave Town and the new Wave Daimyo's top advisor, had gone to speak with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire about Leaf ninja encroaching on Wave. He had vanished en route to the Capitol.

Tsunade, his godmother and the former Fifth Hokage, had left Konoha once more to drown herself in drink and gamble exessively, much as she had when her nephew and lover had both been killed during the last war. His supposed death had hit her hard. Her faithful apprentice Shizune had followed her once again.

Jiraiya , a womanizer, self-proclaimed super-pervert, and Grievous' godfather, had left Konoha and had taken up the life of a celibate hermit on Mount Myoboku, home of the Toad summons clan. He too had been devastated by the exile and death of Naruto, forsaking even his "research" for his adult books in his grief.

Grievous also thought of his old comrades from his genin days. Sakura Haruno, his old teammate, had become apprenticed to Tsunade before her fall, and had followed her master faithfully from Konoha. Sasuke Uchiha, the traitor, had run off again to join the archtraitor Orochimaru as soon as the opportunity arose.

The rest of the so-called "Konoha twelve" were well, for the most part. Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chouji Akamichi were still teamed up together, though Shikamaru had been promoted from chunin to jounin. Ino and Chouji had been promoted to chunin from genin. Their chain-smoking team leader, Asuma Sarutobi, son of the late Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, did his best to steer clear of Danzou, understandably so as his fiancé Kurenai Yuuhi, team leader of genin Team 8, was pregnant with his child.

Team 9 had been fractured. Team leader Maito Gai (Might Guy to some), Konoha's foremost taijutsu expert, had retired, taking along with him his apprentice Rock Lee. Last Kakashi had heard, they had opened up a taijutsu dojo in Tanzaku Gai. As for Tenten Higurashi and Neji Hyuuga, they had dated for awhile before breaking it off. They kept out of trouble, for the most part.

And then there was team 8. Shino Aburame had joined the rest of his clan in cloistering themselves off from the rest of Konoha. The entire clan, for reasons unknown to anyone but themselves, had shut themselves into their clan compound, not emerging for anything, save missions. His teammate, the animalistic Kiba Inuzuka and his ninken partner Akamaru, had been reassigned to Team 9, to replace Rock Lee. As for the final member of Team 8…

Metal groaned as Grievous' fist clenched. Hinata Hyuuga, his first and only living friend, was gone. She had been verbally defending his name from several drunks when she had disappeared. Apparently, her attitude towards Danzou's policies was "it wouldn't be what Naruto would have wanted," generally making herself a nuisance to the new Hokage. She wasn't dead though. No, she was far too useful to kill, what with her families' political clout. But Grievous dreaded to imagine what they would do and had been doing to her.

Grievous ran a hand down his mask. Hinata…would have to wait. As much as he wanted to rush into Konoha and find her, the cyborg knew that he'd need to first secure Wave Country. Without a base to plan and launch missions, he'd be doomed to failure. That had been the first lesson he'd learned as a general.

Kakashi had estimated that they had two weeks before Danzou responded to the ROOT's failed incursion. Plenty of time to do what he needed to, reflected Grievous, as he spotted a bright light approaching from the darkening sky. As the LAAT/i landed, Grievous stepped aboard and made his way to the cockpit. Sitting in the pilot's seat, the cyborg sent out a holonet signal.

o===0========

The Vassek system was dominated by a roiling blue gas-giant. It had three moons capable of sustaining complex life, if just barely. But the gas giant held little relevance to current events.

On the moon of Vassek III, shrouded by grey mists, was a castle. Grievous' castle. His fortress sanctuary, as it was. There, Grievous had often secluded himself away from the galaxy, recuperating from battle and stress without the need to worry for his own safety. And then, it was defiled.

Two Jedi and a squad of clones had infiltrated this castle during the war when Grievous' late master Dooku had remotely deactivated the cyborg general's contingent of IG-100 Magna Guard droids. Though the incursion was fought off by Grievous himself, the lunar fortress was abandoned for the remainder of the war, save for a small contingent of janitorial and security droids.

The castle remained abandoned until near the end of the Clone Wars, when a small detachment of clone troopers shut down the security droids and occupied the fortress. There were things there that the new emperor did not want to come to light. As such, no one went in, and no one came out.

CT-1337A took a deep breath as he entered the security station causeway. Leet, as his brothers called him, absolutely hated going through the dimly lit hallway. It wasn't the dark that bothered him, but rather the rows of deactivated IG-100 droids standing in their berths along the walls. Stopping for a moment, the clone looked at the dead photoreceptor eyes of one particular Magna Guard. A reddish-orange one with strange markings around the eyes. Shuddering, Leet moved on. He'd never admit it, but that one droid always made him feel like someone was walking over his grave.

As CT-1337A entered the security station, a harsh red glow illuminated the front of IG-009.

o===0========

Exiting the LAAT/i, Grievous stepped over to the cliff side. Stopping in front of Zabuza's grave, Grievous took Kubikiri from his back and drove it back where it had been to serve once more as a warrior's gravestone.

Trailing his fingers along the guard, Grievous turned away. Kubikiri was a magnificent sword and a deadly weapon in his hands, but the truth of the matter was that Grievous was not the one the Kubikiri was meant for. Though it had allowed him to wield it in battle, the semi-sentient sword had kept the majority of its abilities sealed until the one it was waiting took it up. It had told Grievous as much, and the cyborg had respected it.

Leaving the cliff and his gunship behind him, Grievous tapped a finger on his mask's chin. He'd need weapons, swords preferably. Fortunately, there was a swordsmith's shop in Wave Town. Hopefully they'd have at least one sword that reached his standards.

o===0========

Grievous expelled a long breath as he looked at the sword selection at the Silver Sword weapon shop. There was a large selection of swords there, but none that would stand up to the demands and standards that Grievous was looking for. They were all too short, too fragile, or too blunt; that, or the balance was way off from what he needed.

Sighing, Grievous turned to leave, only for a glint of light to catch his eye. Intrigued, the cyborg followed the flare to a cloth covered shape. Reaching out, Grievous pulled the cloth away to reveal a straight sword. Picking it up by the grip, Grievous pulled the sword from its sheath.

It was an unremarkable sword, of a style that some cultures called a 'longsword.' It was a straight, double-bladed weapon, with a fuller groove trailing down the central ridge and a simple weighted pommel with a flawless ruby set within. The blade itself was approximately the length of the typical lightsaber's plasma blade, and when Grievous went to give it a few swings, he found that the balance was perfect for what he needed. Sliding the blade back into its sheath, Grievous moved to purchase it.

o===0========

A skittering sound out in the corridor made CT-1337A frown and spin around in his chair from where he was watching the security feeds. Listening carefully, Leet got up and went to the door, DC-17 blaster in hand. After a brief hesitation, the clone trooper hit the door controls, gun coming up to cover…nothing. Sighing in relief, Leet decided that he was just getting jumpy. Shaking his head, he turned around.

The last thing he'd ever see was the pair of glowing red lights before a sharp snap made everything go black.

o===0========

As Grievous stepped out of the shop, his new sword strapped to his sides and with plans to etch what seals he knew into the fuller, the cyborg noticed a commotion occurring in the town square. Intrigued, he made his way over, arriving just in time to overhear the disturbing news.

"The Daimyo and his family have been assassinated!"

**AN: Hey everybody, Guardsman Sparky here. Sorry for the long wait for any updates, but it's been a rough few months. School's been kicking my ass, my mom broke her leg (she's fine now) and my grandfather is on his deathbed. So, I ask for patience and understanding if I don't update anything for a good long while.**

**On a happier note, I posted a one-shot for skyrim called Song of the Dragonborn. Check it out.**

**Q&amp;A**

**Fallen-ryu: i'm sorry to hear that.**

**Guest (11/24/14): Sorry, it's my story, and it's been done before.**

**Nynrahghost: Have you ever tried taking candy from a baby?**

**Darkfighter10053: now.**

**XxCRAZYxCHIMPxX: I know, I know, but it sort of got away from me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Before I start, I'd like to thank everybody who gave me support concerning my Grandfather's health. It has helped to lift my spirits and keep me from despair. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much.**

o===0========

The _Venator_ class Star Destoyer _ISS __Valiant _shot into existence out of hyperspace above Vassek III. In the command chair of one of the twin bridge superstructures, Captain Damien Valok turned to his communications officer. "Anything?"

The clone turned, his white, T-visored helmet shaking in negative. "Negative sir. Sir, even if the Holonet transmitter was down, we'd still be able to pick up radio transmissions from the surface. We're not picking up any signals at all."

Captain Valok sat back in his command chair with a frown. "Send in Rancor squad, I want to know what's going on down there by yesterday."

"Yessir!"

o===0========

It was pure chaos inside the Wave Town town hall. The Daimyo, the feudal lord of the small yet prosperous Land of Waves, had been assassinated not more than a week ago, along with his entire family. Tragically, though his newborn daughter had survived the initial attack, she had succumbed to her injuries the night before and had reunited with her family in the pure realm.

The death of a Daimyo was a terrible thing for any country. Not only did it mean that the afflicted country was leaderless, the country would also be vulnerable to outside intrigues and politicking. When the Daimyo's entire family was wiped out as well, such vulnerabilities became catastrophic, as a no longer existing line of succession left the country open to annexation or an outside power putting in place a puppet leader.

The word had been sent throughout the archipelago. Now, the people were gathered from across the island chain to find a way out of their dilemma. With the recent attack by Leaf ninja forces, the threat of annexation was considerably high.

"What do we do?"

"It's a plot by the Leaf to take us over!"

"This is a catastrophe!"

"What do I tell my children?"

"First Tazuna, and now this!"

"If they'll murder a Daimyo and a baby, what'll they do to us once they take over?!"

As the meeting hall devolved into panic and frightened babbling, an older man, with white hair and tired eyes, standing at a podium at the front of the room, frowned. Shaking his head, the man picked up a worn gavel and banged it sharply on the podium several times. With order restored, the man sedately placed the gavel down.

"Good people of Wave, as you all know, our Daimyo and his entire family have been murdered in their sleep. With their deaths, Danzou of the fallen Leaf has his opportunity to annex us with little to no political fallout. So the question we've all gathered here to answer is: how do we stop Danzou from succeeding?"

A man near the back of the room raised his hand momentarily. "Gendo, we can destroy the bridge!"

The man at the podium, Gendo, shook his head. "That would only hurt us. Ninja don't need the bridge, they can just run over the water. With the bridge gone, the ninja would just have to control the ports to control us all."

A woman near the center of the room stood up. "Why exactly does the Leaf want to conquer us?"

An elderly woman sitting at the raised front of the room sighed. Hands propped on her cane, Tsuna, the elder of Seashell village, stared into the distance as she answered. "Wave has always been a strategic crossroads. We sit directly on one of the largest convergences of shipping lanes in the Elemental Nations. As such, the larger nations have always coveted Wave. For a time, we were protected, the Hidden Eddy Village on our northernmost isle dissuading any hostile takeovers. We lost that protection when the Hidden Mist, Hidden Cloud and Hidden Stone Villages destroyed Uzushiogakure in a prolonged siege. It was that siege and near genocide that started off what became known as the third Shinobi World War.

"It was only due to the utter devastation wrought upon the attackers by the besieged Uzushio shinobi that prevented them from divvying up Wave amongst themselves. And when Uzushio finally fell, it found itself at the center of a maelstrom, disrupting the shipping lanes around Wave, though leaving our southern waters calm. With the strategic value of the shipping lanes gone, Wave was abandoned by all sides. Though the shipping lanes were eventually reestablished circumnavigating the great maelstrom, Wave was largely forgotten."

"It would appear that Danzou has remembered the strategic value we once held, just as Gato once did. It is only a matter of time before he gets his way." Tsuna sighed deeply. "Oh if only the Uzumaki clan had survived. Then we'd have a claimant to the Daimyo's throne."

Loud whispers broke out throughout the hall.

"Did she say Uzumaki?"

"Wasn't that the name of the Wave's Savior?"

"Yeah."

"You know, I heard he returned."

"What, really?"

"Yeah. I heard that the Hokage tried to have him killed, but he survived and spent the last several years travelling the stars."

"Okay, you had me going there, right up until you said stars."

"No, I'm serious. Most of his body's been replaced with metal even."

As variations of this conversation and others like it spread through the hall, the noise level gradually grew to a roar, until finally Gendo was forced to take up his gavel and pound on the podium once more.

"Alright, yes, the Savior of Wave is back, but that doesn't really help us, now does it?"

The woman from before stood again. "Lady Tsuna said that the Uzumaki clan had claim to the throne of Wave. Wasn't the Savior of Wave an Uzumaki?"

Gendo shared a look with Tsuna and the rest of the elders of Wave.

o===0========

Deep in the bowels of the once shining Paragon city of Konohagakure, the Sixth Hokage Danzou Shimura allowed himself to smile. An elderly man with black hair, brown eye and an X-shaped scar on his chin, Danzou was at first glance a cripple. Bandages covered up his right eye socket, and his formal robe had no sleeve for the right arm, both body parts lost during the Third Shinobi War. However, should anyone attack the old Warhawk thinking him an easy mark, they would not live long enough to regret underestimating him.

For years before becoming Hokage, Danzou had been subtly manipulating events in the shadows to increase his power base. And then everything had clicked into place when he manipulated events perfectly in his favor and deposed the broken Tsunade as the Sixth Hokage. Since then, things were going as they should, with Konoha slowly but steadily rising to its rightful place as the master of the Elemental Nations. Even his setbacks were advantageous to him. For example, the recent failed hostile takeover of Wave had allowed him to slip an agent in to…remove the Daimyo and his family. Of course, Wave could always install a new Daimyo, Danzou mused, but it would be child's play to…force them to retire prematurely.

Stopping at a metal door, Danzou peered into the barred window with a cruel glint in his eye. Soon, the Kyuubi would reform, and when it did, his men would be there, waiting to create his newest weapon. It was only a matter of time.

o===0========

CT-R4NC0R, sergeant of Rancor squad, poked his head around another blind corner, preceded by the barrel of his DC-17 blaster. Nothing. Rancor stepped out into the corridor. After meeting no welcoming party or resistance at the hangar when disembarking from their gunship, Rancor squad had split up to find the missing clone troopers garrisoned at what had once been affectionately called "Castle Grievous.'

Rancor put his hand to the side of his helmet, activating his comm. "Rancor squad, sound-off! One!"

-Two!-

-Three!-

-Four!-

-Rancor 5 here. Sir, you need to see this.-

Rancor 5 forced down the bile threatening to force its way up. –Roger, Rancor 5. What's your location?- Rancor 5 took a deep steadying breath and answered. "I'm in the security station. Sir, it's…I found the troopers stationed here."

-Roger that Rancor 5. What's their status?-

Turning away from the room, Rancor 5 responded, his voice breaking as he did so. "Sir, they're all dead! It's-it's horrible. It's a slaughterhouse down here."

The radio was silent for a moment before the subdued answer came on. -Roger that Five. I'm on my way. The rest of you, keep searching. Stay on alert. Whatever did this might still be here.-

Rancor 5 stood staring into the dark, not moving until he felt his sergeant's hand upon his shoulder. Rancor looked at his squad member. He was about to speak when a sound made him pause. Frowning, Rancor began to follow the sound. It was rhythmical, but muffled so that any other characteristics were unable to be made out.

Following the sound, Rancor stopped at the mound of blood, organs, and body parts that decorated the center of the security station. The sound was coming from under a decapitated torso, the head having been _pulled_ off, likely while the clone was still alive, judging from the blood stains. Carefully, respectfully, Rancor shifted the torso to the side. Immediately, the sounds of ticking filled the small room.

Jumping back, Rancor signaled Rancor squad and the _Valiant_. "Rancor squad, _Valiant! Code Bantha! Fall back!_"

-Rancor squad, _Valiant_. Confirm code Bantha?-

Grabbing his subordinate by the arm, Rancor ran from the tomb of the fallen garrison. "Confirmed! There is a bomb of unknown yield in the base! Time to detonation is unknown. We-"

Whatever else CT-R4NC0R was going to say would forever remain a mystery as the bomb detonated in a holocaust of nuclear fire and light, destroying Grievous' Castle and a good portion of Vassek III. Shields overloaded by the atomic fire, the _Valiant_ fell victim to the EMP discharge of the nuke, falling out of low orbit around the moon as navigation, power, life support, and most importantly, propulsion was overloaded and forcibly shut down by the electric energy.

As the doomed Star Destroyer impacted with the moon's surface, a smaller vessel escaped unnoticed into hyperspace.

o===0========

Grievous slashed at another imaginary enemy as he put his new longsword through its paces in an abandoned field. It really was a good blade; well balanced, a fine edge, and was well suited for slashing and stabbing.

Running another imaginary foe through, Grievous spun around to chop yet another shadow opponent in half vertically only to freeze mid-swing. There, standing in front of him, was a small, black haired little girl, who couldn't have been older than four. Her chocolate brown eyes were unreadable, a ragged teddy bear held against her tattered pink dress as she stood there unperturbed by the sword hanging over her.

For a long moment, the two stared at each other, unmoving until Grievous remembered that he was holding a sword above a child's head. Sheathing his sword, the cyborg and the little girl continued to stare at each other. Finally, Grievous broke the silence. "Ah, can I help you?"

Wordlessly, the little girl stepped forward, grabbing Grievous' hand, pulling him with her. Perplexed, the cyborg allowed her to lead him back into town. As he was pulled through the small capitol, Grievous took note of the various expressions on the townsfolk as they passed. As expected with the sudden death of the Daimyo and his family, many were upset, angry or worried. Strangely though, just as many looked upon Grievous with expressions of hope and expectation.

The cyborg's musings were cut off as the little girl stopped at the doors of the modest town hall and municipal building that served as the center of Wave's economic and political theaters. Seeing the raven-haired girl struggling to open one of the heavy double doors, Grievous reached over her and pushed it open himself. Upon doing so, Grievous once more found himself being led by the hand. After leading the cyborg through the sparsely furnished halls, the little girl stopped by a pair of masterfully carved wooden doors. Letting go of the former general's hand, the little girl disappeared inside.

After a moment's thought, Grievous pushed through the doors. Stalking into the room, the cyborg stopped before a small stain of grey haired men and women arrayed in a half-circle. He took them in: not one was below the age of fifty. Silently, Grievous stood before the beige and waited. Finally, one of the men at the center of the arc cleared his throat. "Greetings, are we to assume that you are the one they call Grievous?"

"I am." Grievous focused on the man's grey goatee and mustache. In a world where eye contact could leave one trapped in an illusion, getting in the habit of looking elsewhere could save one's life. "You have me at a disadvantage. You know who I am, but I do not know who you are."

"Ah." There was a glimmer of amusement in the old man's faded green eyes. "I am Gendo, this is Tsuna, and we are the Wave Council of Elders."

Important people then, arguably the most powerful politically and influentially on the island with the Daimyo's death. Grievous inclined his head respectfully. "And what would Wave's Elders want of me?"

Gendo smiled. "Straight to the point eh? Oh, that is refreshing." The elder cleared his throat. "As you may well know, our Daimyo was assassinated last week, along with his family. Yesterday, there was a moot held amongst the people of Wave to decide our next course of action."

Yellow reptilian eyes narrowed. "I wasn't aware of any such meeting."

The elder shook his head. "No, you wouldn't be. Only those who have called Wave their home for at least five years are considered citizens, and only citizens are notified when we hold a moot." Well, that certainly explained why neither Grievous nor Kakashi and the Ichirakus had been informed. The next thing that was said, however, threw the impassive cyborg off balance. "It was decided through majority vote to offer you the throne of the Daimyo of the Land of Waves."

Grievous was understandably skeptical. "I wasn't aware that I was eligible for such a position."

An old woman (Tsuna, recalled the cyborg) with a simple, yet ornately carved wooden cane resonded. "You were once known as Naruto Uzumaki, were you not?"

Silently, Grievous cursed. He should have known revealing his identity to Kakashi in public would come back to bite him. "I was."

"Back when Wave still had a ninja village, it was ruled by the Uzumaki clan. At one point, one of our Daimyo married an Uzumaki." Tsuna rapped her cane against the wooden floor. "Therefore, you are eligible."

"Be that as it may," replied Grievous. "As the Uzumaki clan was all but wiped out in the last war that claim to the throne is tenuous at best."

Gendo nodded. "While that is true, there is another way through which you can legitimately take the throne."

An unseen, heavily scarred eyebrow rose at this. "Oh?"

With a sad smile, Tsuna gently tapped her cane on the floor twice. Slowly, the little girl that had delivered Grievous to the council stepped into view, though she was still half hidden shyly behind Tsuna's chair. "This is Kimi."

Grievous took a glance at the forenamed Kimi and went back to looking at the elders. "And?"

Tsuna gave a deep sigh. "Kimi is my only grandchild, and the illegitimate daughter of the late Daimyo."

Grievous' minds whirred, calculations and thoughts burning until they came to a conclusion. "You want me to adopt her."

Gendo grunted in the affirmative. "Precisely. Doing so would not only solidify your claim to the throne, but do it in a way that the Fire Daimyo would not be able to contest."

"It would also protect my Kimi from Danzou. If he doesn't already know of her, he will soon. With someone sitting on the throne and acting as her father, Danzou will be more hesitant to kidnap her." Tsuna looked down at her only grandchild. "I hope."

"I can see how that would help her," noted Grievous. "But how can adopting her help me?"

One of the other elders, a bald man with a white beard flowing down to his toes, and a crazed look in his eyes thumbed his nose. "It's how that flaming bastard got his fancy-chair!"

Gendo scrunched up his nose in exasperation. "Thank you, Furui Oban." Furui nodded, before staring into space with a glazed look and a tuneless hum. Gendo pinched the bridge of his nose at the man's ever worsening dementia. "As my esteemed colleague was saying, it is how the current Fire Daimyo ascended to his throne. When his brother died, he left behind a son who was too young to take the throne for himself. The Daimyo adopted his nephew and took the throne as regent."

"If he was only regent," Grievous inquired. "Then how is he now Daimyo?"

Tsuna snorted in derision and detached sympathy. "Because not even a month after he took the regency, his nephew died in what was called an accident. As the nephew was obviously without heirs, the throne went to the uncle by default."

Grievous heard the unspoken assertion. "You suspect the Fire Daimyo had his nephew killed."

"Yes." Gendo looked to Tsuna as he spoke. "Many thought as much, but there was never any evidence that it was anything but an accident."

"I see." Seeing as that tangent was concluded, Grievous returned to the matter at hand. "What duties does sitting the throne of Daimyo entail?"

"For one," stated Gendo. "You would have to levy taxes."

"Then," continued Tsuna. "There is passing or vetoing legislature your advisors bring forward."

"And you've got ta give any varmints what step foot in Wave what fer!"

Exasperation showed through Gendo's calm exterior as Furui resumed sucking on a hard candy. "Yes, as it was so…succinctly put, you would also have to provide for the defense of Wave, be it through a standing army or a citizen militia."

Internally, Grievous smirked. No, that would not be a problem, not for long. Turning to the side, something on the wall caught the cyborg's eye. Silently, the cybernetic warrior stalked up the large map of the elemental nations.

For a long moment, Grievous was quiet. Then he tapped a finger on Wave, speaking softly to himself. "Wave cannot stand alone against Fire. It would need allies. Those who are also threatened by the Leaf. Perhaps…even those who hate them…or perhaps not. Snow/Spring for sure. They've got good access to shipping." The cyborg tapped one country, one with two names, and then another. "And maybe Kusa. Their central location makes them both a valuable ally and a possible target for Danzou." For a long minute, Grievous stared at the map. Then, he slapped it lightly with the back of his hand in exasperation, scoffing as he did. "Bah. I have been gone for too long. I need to know more before I can make a move."

A disquieting silence pervaded the council chambers as Grievous stood at ease, staring at the map wall. Finally, he turned to face the elders.

"What would you have your Daimyo do?"

**AN: So, this chapter has been a product of two weeks straight of snow days. Cabin fever set in more than a few days ago, and I started losing my marbles some time ago. **

**Q&amp;A:**

**Guest (2/20): Ah! Spoilers!**

**Guest (2/15): perhaps. Perhaps not.**

**Itharax: Yes. By the time Grievous 'woke up,' Palpatine's coup had already been successful and the Republic fell to thunderous applause.**

**Stratos263: Well, that was the plan, yes.**


	4. Chapter 4

The stars in the night sky shone and twinkled brightly as Grievous stared upwards, leaning on the railing. His cloak fluttered gently as the wind breezed around the third floor balcony of the Daimyo's Manse.

"Who's that?"

Jumping slightly, Grievous looked down from the stars. "Oh, Kimi, I didn't see you there."

Kimi, holding her ubiquitous teddy bear in one hand and wearing a pink set of pajamas, shuffled closer to the cyborg. She pointed at the picture held in his hand. "Who's that?"

Grievous looked down at the picture in his hand for a long moment, before an explosive sigh escaped from the rebreather on his mask. Turning to Kimi, he went down on one knee and showed her the picture. "This is Hinata Hyuuga. She was my first, and only, friend when I was your age."

"_You looked hungry, so I brought an extra lunch for you!"_

"_Wow, thanks Hinata!"_

Kimi looked up from the picture. "You didn't have any other friends?"

The cyborg shook his head. "No. None of the grown-ups would let their kids near me."

Kimi's pigtails bobbed as she tilted her head to one side. "Why not?"

"_I'm not allowed to play with you. Daddy says you're a monster." _

"_Get away from my daughter, demon!"_

Grievous' eyes grew distant as he put away his picture. "That is a story for another night." Kimi shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind cut through her thin pajamas. Gently, Grievous ushered the girl to the door back inside. "Alright, it's getting late. Little girls need their sleep after all."

Yawning widely, Kimi went inside. "'k. 'Night Daddy."

The cyborg stood still for a moment, before drawing his sword and staring at his reflection within. "Daddy." For a long while, Grievous stood staring into the depths of the forged steel blade, unable to categorize the emotions going through him.

Suddenly, Grievous began to swing his blade around himself, whirling and twirling it in front and behind, tossing up to catch it behind his back. The blade itself was hypnotic in its movements as it sang through the air, its wielder moving in ways that no fully organic being was capable of.

Just as abruptly as he had begun Grievous ceased, driving his longsword home. As the blade clicked in its sheath, a body fell from the shadows of the balcony. The cyborg lifted his foot and caught the head as it rolled out after. Looking down at the severed head distastefully, Grievous took note of the double rocks engraved on the standard issue forehead protector, as well as the lack of a scratch to indicate missing-nin status.

Another body landed behind Grievous and straightened up. The cyborg continued to regard the head, turning it this way and that with his foot. "Dispose of the body, would you Kakashi? And send the head back to Iwagakure with a note to send someone better next time."

Kakashi smirked behind his mask in bemusement as he slung the dead weight of the headless body over his shoulder. "It would be a pleasure."

Grievous allowed the Copy-nin to collect the head before voicing a query. "Has Danzou contracted out for assassinations in the past?"

The silver-haired jounin paused. "Not that I know of, but it's not a stretch to think that he might have captured and reeducated an Iwa-nin."

'Hmm'ing in thought, Grievous dismissed Kakashi with a gesture. As the former leaf jounin vanished into the night with his cargo, the robotic Daimyo returned to staring up at the night sky.

A shooting star in the night sky sent a smug smile across the cyborg's hidden face.

o===0========

In a dark office in the heart of the Hidden Leaf Village, Danzou Shimura sat deep in thought. Upon the announcement of the crowning of a new Daimyo in Wave a week prior, the crippled Hokage had sent one of his brainwashed shinobi captured from the Hidden Stone Village to affect another change in leadership.

Unfortunately, the would-be assassin had yet to check in with his controller. Indeed, he had just received word that the cursed seal on the agent's tongue had been activated by total brain death. A pity for sure, but ultimately no great loss. The cursed seal on his tongue would destroy the brain before dissolving with his death, and there was nothing on him to link the body to Konoha, only Iwa. Which would work out in the favor of the Leaf, putting political pressure on their most hated rival. Assassinating a Daimyo was seriously frowned upon in the Elemental Nations, doubly so if the assassin was from outside the country. Danzou looked forward to the political fallout Iwa would be seeing from this.

Still, Agent Tsuchishi had been one of ROOT's top assassination and stealth specialists. For him to be taken out, spoke of the prowess of either the new Daimyo's guards, or of the new Daimyo himself. Slipping another assassin in so close to another would be ill advised, and likely doomed to failure, now that they'd be on alert.

Danzou stood from his chair and hobbled to the window, his cane thumping against the wooden floor of his office. Absolute control over Wave and its trade was vital to his plans for Konoha and the Elemental Nations. Perhaps he could invite the new Daimyo to Konoha for a meeting. Then, they could see eye-to-eye, and he could…persuade the Wave Daimyo to see things his way.

A dark smile crossed the Hokage's scarred visage. Yes. Yes, that would work. That would work perfectly.

o===0========

Onoki "The Fence Sitter," third Tsuchikage of the Hidden Rock Village was not amused. The short, elderly man stared down over his bulbous red nose at his advising council. "Would anybody like to tell me why exactly the head of Shizukana Kira was sent to me from the new Daimyo of Wave, and just why a man who has been MIA for four years suddenly pops up out of nowhere to assassinate a Daimyo?"

One of the advisors, a retired jounin stood. "Sir. The last we heard from jounin Shizukana was when he escorted a merchant to the border of the Land of Fire."

"Damn the Leaf! They've been getting too big for their britches, ever since that upstart Shimura became the Hokage! This is too much!" Onoki slammed a fist against the council table and immediately doubled over in pain as he clutched at his back. "Gah! My hip!"

As the Tsuchikage's personal physician began to put his back in proper order, Onoki continued. "We need to do something about the Leaf. Does anybody have any ideas?"

o===0========

Kakashi stifled a yawn as he joined Grievous and Inari at the cliffside cemetery. Sparing a glance at the odd black machine (A Larty? Was that what Naru—erm, Grievous had called it?) parked a good distance away from the cliff, the copy nin looked at his companions.

Inari looked like he was in severe need of coffee, swaying back and forth as he looked blearily around. Grievous however, merely stared impassively at the horizon over the ocean. Once again, Kakashi stifled a yawn. Honestly, why were they out there at such a god-forsaken hour? It wasn't even dawn yet. True, Kakashi was a shinobi, but even he preferred to sleep through the night to a decent hour. Grumbling slightly, the former Konoha jounin turned to his new Daimyo.

"So…this is fun and all, but what are we doing out here at this kami-forsaken hour?"

Grievous spared his former teacher a look. "We are waiting."

Inari grumbled. "What exactly for?"

The cyborg pointed into the pre-dawn twilight of the sky. "That."

The two humans looked up, and gaped, their jaws nearly dislocating from how fast they dropped. There, floating in the twilight sky, was a massive arrowhead that cast them all in shadow. Inari's jaw worked as he tried to conjure up a coherent sentence. "Wha-what is that?"

"That," replied Grievous. "Is a captured Republic _Acclamator_-class military transport ship that I had retrofitted in secret as my personal flagship. I present to you _The Burning Leaf._" The cyborg stood at parade rest, impassive as the massive ship rumbled overhead. "2466 feet long, 1509 feet wide and 600 feet high, a standard _Acclamator_ has a crew of seven hundred and can carry an army of sixteen thousand in its hold, along with eighty gunships, forty-eight armored vehicles and thirty-six self-propelled artillery pieces. However, _The Burning Leaf_ has been heavily modified. Much of the passenger quarters and cargo bays have been replaced with droid factories and storage, leaving it only capable of carrying eight thousand passengers. Fortunately, she is capable of carrying a compliment of twenty thousand battle droids and two wings of Vulture droids. Her cargo bays also carry a mixture of recovered separatist and Republic vehicles and armaments."

Inari's mouth opened and closed silently as he tried to comprehend and mentally translate what he had just been told into something he could understand. Kakashi, however, was wondering about that last statement. "The Republic was your enemy, right? Why not use a vessel from your faction?"

Grievous' eyes remained fixed upon _The Burning Leaf_. "It was most convenient. You see, I did not trust my so-called masters. I knew they would throw me to the wayside if it benefits outweighed the costs. Early in the war, the _Leaf_ was disabled and abandoned during battle, which it miraculously survived mostly intact. I had it boarded and taken to my hidden sanctuary for repairs and refitting. I did not inform my masters.

"Over the course of the war, I had teams recover destroyed war machines and droids as well as armaments from empty battlefields. Most was recycled openly to hide my intentions, but the best salvage was secretly shipped to the _Leaf_." The cyborg glanced over at the still gaping Inari. "It seems my decision to salvage enemy body armor will be of benefit to my militia. Or should I say, my Defense Force command echelon?"

Inari finally came to his senses and stared at the robotic being. "Defense Force command echelon?"

"Yes," replied Grievous. "For now, my droids will be a defensive peacekeeping force. However, I need a human element to lead them when I cannot. The Wave militia is a perfect candidate. Wave has no samurai, so the militia members have the most fighting experience, outside of Kakashi and any other missing nin that may be residing in secret here."

The sixteen year old frowned. "What kind of peacekeeping force are we talking about here?"

Grievous looked at Inari briefly before staring back up at the _Acclamator_ above. "You'll essentially be doing the same thing you did as a militia: keeping law and order and repelling invaders. The only difference is each member will be paid and be given command over a number of droids, depending on rank."

Kakashi spoke as the assault transport hovered sedately to the north. "Where exactly is it heading?"

"To a mass grave." With a final deep breath, the robotic Daimyo turned away. "Come. We have work to do before I address the nation at noon."

As teen and shinobi followed the Daimyo, Inari had just one question.

"What's a droid?"

o===0========

The air around the ruins of Uzushiogakure was still and lifeless, even as three massive pads attached to landing gear touched down on the deserted isle. As the forward assault ramp of _The Burning Leaf_ finished lowering, a burnt-orange IG-100 with black markings around the eyes stepped onto the grey, ashy soil of Uzushio. Panning its sensors across the dead ground, the droid addressed an OOM command droid leading a contingent of nearly identical B1 Battle Droids down the ramp.

"Begin recovery procedures. Start with the bodies. Civilians and bodies marked with a spiral-engraved metal plate are to be given full military honors. Dispose of the rest." The harsh, metallic voice echoed in the dead air.

The OOM droid saluted. "Roger-roger!"

o===0========

"People of Wave!" Grievous stood on a wooden platform in the Wave Town town square, overlooking a crowd of Wave residents from across the archipelago. "For too long after the fall of Uzushiogakure, Wave has been plagued by bandits, invaders, and those who seek to take what is ours! For too long, we have not had the resources or manpower to fight back! But no longer!"

Whispers broke out as the rhythmic sound of metal striking cobblestone could be heard, growing louder and louder until finally, the source of the noise was revealed. Out of the street closest to Grievous' stand came a column of twenty six-foot tall metal beings in rows of two, all marching in perfect unison. Spindly and skeletal looking, with thick backpacks sprouting short antenna, they had long, thin, beak-like heads. Each carried a strange black instrument that was about a foot in length, obviously projectile weapons of some sort. Each one was painted in either a bleached bone or a rust red color. At the head of the column was another metal being, much the same as the others, but slightly taller and much bulkier, as well as painted a darkish blue. It carried no weapons, but the way it held its right forearm vertically before it at the ready, that wasn't saying much.

In front of the stand, the column stopped and pivoted, still in perfect unison, to face the crowd of Wave civilians and froze at attention. Grievous took advantage of the stunned silence and spoke, clenching a fist. "These autonomous puppets are called battle droids. They never tire, never thirst, never hunger, and feel no pain or fear. They shall protect you all with unyielding force and efficiency. With them forming the core of the new Wave Defense Force, Never again shall we need fear waking up to find our country invaded by foreign shinobi or taken over by thuggish bandits! Never again shall we be helpless! And should any try, they shall meet their fates at the hands of cold steel!"

The cheers and hurrahs were deafening.

o===0========

Kakashi stood in the courtyard of the Daimyo's Manse, looking down upon the former members of the disbanded Wave militia. The former konoha shinobi looked over them with a jaundiced eye. They were mostly undisciplined, as well as not very fit. Well, reflected Kakashi, they weren't shinobi, or even soldiers yet, just civilians. He'd fix that quickly though. He began to pace before the assembled men and women.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Wave Defense Force and the WDF boot camp. For several weeks, I am going to work you to the ground. I will be teaching you tactics, strategy, how to fight, how to handle weapons, and most importantly, how to stay alive. Once you have graduated, you will be issued a set of armor to customize and wear when on duty. Should anyone not wish to do this full time, you will instead be put in the reserves. Regardless of whether you choose this course of action or stay in the WDF, your duties will be explained to you at a later time. Now, are there any questions?" Nobody raised their hands.

Kakashi clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Good. Now, does everyone have on the arm and leg bands they were given when you got here?" Everyone nodded or gave positive responses. "Excellent!" With a beaming eye-smile, Kakashi made a ram seal, sending everyone crashing to the ground as the gravity around them suddenly skyrocketed. "Now, let's begin with a nice five-mile run, shall we?"

A chorus of groans followed Kakashi out of the courtyard.

o===0========

Grievous grunted in pain as his new mask was grafted onto his face. It was virtually identical to his old one in every which way, only this one could be partially removed to expose his mouth and chin. The reason for the change was simple: politics. In polite society, it was considered a grave insult not to eat anything. In addition, Grievous now had to eat to keep his body running.

Grievous' body ran off of a small fusion battery located in his stomach, one that recharged using glucose and carbohydrates. Normally, this was taken care of by the nutrient rich gutsack that contained his organs. Unfortunately, this nutrient mix required regular enrichment to replace the used nutrients, and Grievous' former masters kept the formula a secret. Fortunately, most biological waste was recycled by the fusion battery, with what wasn't recycled stored in what was essentially a metal colonoscopy bag that only required yearly cleaning.

Dismissing the IM-6 medical droid, Grievous sat up from the operating table and moved to go to the courtyard. He wished to see how the first batch of recruits to the WDF were doing.

o===0========

Grievous stepped outside and went to the courtyard to find Kakashi standing off to one side while the recruits were all spread out across the grounds in various states of collapse. Shaking his head, the cyborg went to stand next to the ninja. "So, how are the recruits?"

Kakashi looked sidelong at the Daimyo to his right. "They are doing much better than I thought they would be a few days ago. No one has quit yet, but a few of the older recruits have admitted that they are unable to keep up with the younger ones, and have opted to join the reserves once they graduate."

The Wave Daimyo nodded. "Good. Very good. Keep me informed of their progress." Grievous turned to leave, only to stop and look over his shoulder. "Oh, Kakashi. Please tell Ayame to expect me for dinner one of these days."

The silver-haired cyclops nodded. "Of course. We would be honored to have you. Will you be bringing Kimi?"

"Of course. It would be a crime not to." With an amused nod, Grievous returned inside. He had paperwork to do and trade meetings to set up, amongst other things.

o===0========

On a mist wreathed mountain, surrounded by giant toads, a broken man sat meditating on a high rock. As he sat there, a toad the size of a full-grown man hopped frantically towards him, a four-foot long scroll held in his arms.

**"Jiraiya! You have to see this!"**

**AN: Thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes and condolences. It's tough knowing he's no longer among us, but support like the ones you're sending me have helped immensely. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you all.**

**So, what do you all think of **_**The Burning Leaf**_**? **

**In case anyone didn't catch it earlier, Grievous has created the Wave Defense Force, which shall consist of the droids brought over on the **_**Leaf**_** and the former Wave militia. The droids will be the grunts, while the militia will be the officers and noncoms, each commanding at least a squad of droids, the number of which depending on rank. Privates will be given the grunt jobs, such as guard duty, law enforcement, and the like.**

**As for the Halo 2 reference at the end of the last chapter there, I hadn't even noticed until someone commented on it. Whoops.**

**Q&amp;A**

**Guest Q: Maybe, maybe. But not this early, that's for sure.**

**Guest (3/1): Is the **_**Leaf**_** big enough for you? As for your questions, in order; wait and see, yes only an Uzumaki can hold Kyuubi, you'll see, and that is a secret.**

**Metal66: sorry, no harem. Besides, how would that work? Grievous lost his junk. As for Tsunami, she just hasn't been in the picture yet.**

**Castage: Erm, not really. I don't really have any knowledge on that era. This is all from the top of my head, Wookiepedia, and the Naruto Wiki. As for those other things, I'll be showing those eventually.**

**KingHoborg: Sorry, I update whenever I have time and my muse hits me with a brick.**


End file.
